Haunted Pensacola Series: Box 1 - Seville Quarter LbNA #50364
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Add Location| Owner: | Adoptable |
|---|---|
| Plant date: | Sep 13, 2009 |
| Location: | |
| City: | Pensacola |
| County: | Escambia |
| State: | Florida |
| Boxes: | 1 |
| Planted by: | Moo Poo  |
|---|---|
| Found by: | Alabama Mardi Gras Clowns |
| Last found: | Mar 30, 2014 |
| Status: | FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFOF |
| Last edited: | Sep 13, 2009 |
HAUNTED PENSACOLA SERIES: BOX 1 - SEVILLE QUARTER Letterbox
Created by: Moo Poo
Placed by: Moo Poo and The Real Truth
Stamp: Hand-carved
Note: I am rating this series PG-13!! I fear that some children may find ghosts and haunted places scary. Please don’t attempt these boxes if you think your child(ren) may be afraid of the idea of ghosts.
Series Note: The first 4 boxes of this series (Seville Quarter, Cat Ghost, Pensacola Little Theatre’s Little Girl, Mr. Manatee’s and Mattie) are in walking distance of one another. I’ve listed the clues in the order with which it would be most convenient for you to walk to all 4. In fact, the clues for boxes 2-4 are simply continuations from the clues for boxes 1-3!
In his book Florida’s Ghostly Legends and Haunted Folklore: The Gulf Coast and Pensacola, Greg Jenkins stated, “With a rich history, Pensacola has much to offer for visitors and natives alike...When exploring the city and historic sights – such as Historic Pensacola Village, the Pensacola Historical Museum, Ft. Pickens, Ft. Barrancas, and of course the festive Seville Historic District – you’ll glimpse Florida at its best. From historical forts that protected our shores during the Civil War to the modern bases that had trained sailors and pilots during every war and conflict since, it’s simple to see Pensacola’s importance to the United States and to Florida’s unique history.” Whether or not one believes in ghosts, it can’t be ignored that there is fascinating history behind many of Pensacola’s notable places. This series is meant to highlight some of the stories behind a few of Pensacola’s most famous spots and encourage others to explore what this historic city has to offer.
Seville Quarter
Rosie O’Grady’s in Seville Quarter appears to have a ghostly employee on its staff – a ghost by the name of Wesley. He was once a faithful customer who enjoyed the restaurant’s fine dining and festive nature, and had a great knowledge of mixed drinks from all over the world. He enjoyed the restaurant so much he later became a bartender here. Apparently, there was, indeed, a man named Wesley who lived in town, and who was a long-time patron of the Seville Quarter, specifically Rosie O’Grady’s. Wesley worked at the restaurant in the early 1990s; was a man in his late thirties or early forties; was tall; had short, receding dark hair; and, after a few years working both at Rosie O’Grady’s and throughout the Seville Quarter district, died as a result of a heart attack. There were many variations as to where he died, some being that he died on the front stoop of the restaurant, within the restaurant itself, or while at home. In fact, most believe that he died as he was cooling off in a walk-in beer cooler behind Rosie O’Grady’s one afternoon. The description of his spirit differs from person to person, as some remembered him as a tall, dark man, while others remember him as a shorter and having light hair. Either way, his spirit has a definite appearance all its own. Of the reports of Wesley’s ghost – if, indeed, it is the former employee – is that he’s more of a smokelike entity that lurks around the corners of the restaurant and throughout the Seville Qurater late at night. This spirit is said to have a human form, sometimes almost solid with augmented facial features, such as heavy eyebrows and dark eye sockets, and sometimes a simple human outline that hides when spotted. Others report only the feeling of being watched after hours, when the manager and staff are preparing to lock up. On some occasions, this spirit appears to be mischievous. His presence is felt in the downstairs men’s bathroom, turning the water and the hand dryers on and off while people are using them. Indeed, this spirit does seem to be more prankster than spook.
There is yet another spirit said to haunt the upstairs area, the business offices, the historic districts, the Seville Qurater, and along near-by Romano Street. This feminine spirit is said to be the ghost of Sarah Wharton, the daughter of a well-to-do Pensacola businessman, and a hapless victim of a pirate raid during the early nineteenth century. It was while Sarah and her father were taking an evening stroll down Romano Street that the vicious attack took place. Pirates landed nearby and murdered several people immediately, but when one of the scoundrels saw the beautiful Sarah, hr ran quickly to take her as his prize. This pirate killed Mr. Wharton with on shot from his black powder pistol, and then snatched up the hysterical woman in his arms, and began to run back to the docks where a longboat was moored. Sarah, however, in a fit of rage, began fighting the thug by biting, scratching and hitting as hard as she could. In the process, Sarah gouged out one of the pirate’s eyes with her diamond ring, forcing him to drop her. In his anger, the pirate drew his cutlass and lopped off her head with one blow, her lifeless body falling limp in the city street. Since that time many people, both local and visitors alike, have reported seeing the vision of a Victorian-era lady silently gliding down Romano and other local streets. Some believe that Sarah enjoys the silent Seville Quarter long after the party crowd goes home. Some have reported seeing a woman dressed in old-fashioned clothing silently walking past office doors, or hearing knocking sounds coming from empty rooms and closet spaces. On occasion, this spirit plays with the office copy machine, turning the device on and off and making copies of absolutely nothing; the paper exiting the machine will be pure white, or black and hazy, as if someone lifted the cover while the machine was printing. Whether this is simply a late night worker’s imagination has rarely been questioned, since far too many people, including workers, local patrons and visitors, all know of the enchanted Seville Quarter and its playful ghosts.
Borrowed from Florida’s Ghostly Legends and Haunted Folklore: The Gulf Coast and Pensacola by Greg Jenkins.
To find out more about Seville Quarter, visit: www.rosies.com
Directions:
Seville Quarter
130 E Government St, Pensacola, FL
From Interstate 10, take Exit 12 to merge onto I-110 S toward Pensacola.
Take Exit 1C for US-98 Bus/ Garden St and then merge onto Garden St.
Turn Left at Tarragona St and park in the parking on the right. It’s between Government Street and Church St.
Clues:
1) Head to the corner of Tarragona St and Government St. With your back to the parking lot and Government St going from left to right, turn Left.
2) Walk down Government St and observe a mural up on a wall on your right. This is the beginning of the Seville Quarter establishment. Keep walking down past Seville Quarter until you come to the intersection with Jefferson St.
3) Turn Right. On your right will be two black iron fences with 2 white security boxes (no longer in function) in-between them.
4) Walk towards those white security boxes. Stop at the 2nd-to-last fence post on your left.
5) Down in the shrub, on the 2nd-to-last fence post, is a gray magnetic key box.
6) This box is cheap, so in order to insure that it closes properly, I have constructed a small “latch” system consisting of black duct-tape and Velcro. To undo the “latch” find the side opposite of the magnet. Carefully pull the Velcro apart (it’s at the end of the black duct-tape strip). The box opens from where the duct-tape strip is taped. You might have to mess around at this spot, but the box should open, away from the duct-tape strip. There is no Logbook in this box.
7) When you’re finished with stamping, please reseal all the bags and make sure the “latch” is secure. Re-hide better than how you found it. Now, you can go on to find Cat Ghost, Pensacola Little Theatre’s Little Girl, Mr. Manatee’s and Mattie!
8) Don’t forget to log your find in to either AtlasQuest.com or Letterboxing.org!
Created by: Moo Poo
Placed by: Moo Poo and The Real Truth
Stamp: Hand-carved
Note: I am rating this series PG-13!! I fear that some children may find ghosts and haunted places scary. Please don’t attempt these boxes if you think your child(ren) may be afraid of the idea of ghosts.
Series Note: The first 4 boxes of this series (Seville Quarter, Cat Ghost, Pensacola Little Theatre’s Little Girl, Mr. Manatee’s and Mattie) are in walking distance of one another. I’ve listed the clues in the order with which it would be most convenient for you to walk to all 4. In fact, the clues for boxes 2-4 are simply continuations from the clues for boxes 1-3!
In his book Florida’s Ghostly Legends and Haunted Folklore: The Gulf Coast and Pensacola, Greg Jenkins stated, “With a rich history, Pensacola has much to offer for visitors and natives alike...When exploring the city and historic sights – such as Historic Pensacola Village, the Pensacola Historical Museum, Ft. Pickens, Ft. Barrancas, and of course the festive Seville Historic District – you’ll glimpse Florida at its best. From historical forts that protected our shores during the Civil War to the modern bases that had trained sailors and pilots during every war and conflict since, it’s simple to see Pensacola’s importance to the United States and to Florida’s unique history.” Whether or not one believes in ghosts, it can’t be ignored that there is fascinating history behind many of Pensacola’s notable places. This series is meant to highlight some of the stories behind a few of Pensacola’s most famous spots and encourage others to explore what this historic city has to offer.
Seville Quarter
Rosie O’Grady’s in Seville Quarter appears to have a ghostly employee on its staff – a ghost by the name of Wesley. He was once a faithful customer who enjoyed the restaurant’s fine dining and festive nature, and had a great knowledge of mixed drinks from all over the world. He enjoyed the restaurant so much he later became a bartender here. Apparently, there was, indeed, a man named Wesley who lived in town, and who was a long-time patron of the Seville Quarter, specifically Rosie O’Grady’s. Wesley worked at the restaurant in the early 1990s; was a man in his late thirties or early forties; was tall; had short, receding dark hair; and, after a few years working both at Rosie O’Grady’s and throughout the Seville Quarter district, died as a result of a heart attack. There were many variations as to where he died, some being that he died on the front stoop of the restaurant, within the restaurant itself, or while at home. In fact, most believe that he died as he was cooling off in a walk-in beer cooler behind Rosie O’Grady’s one afternoon. The description of his spirit differs from person to person, as some remembered him as a tall, dark man, while others remember him as a shorter and having light hair. Either way, his spirit has a definite appearance all its own. Of the reports of Wesley’s ghost – if, indeed, it is the former employee – is that he’s more of a smokelike entity that lurks around the corners of the restaurant and throughout the Seville Qurater late at night. This spirit is said to have a human form, sometimes almost solid with augmented facial features, such as heavy eyebrows and dark eye sockets, and sometimes a simple human outline that hides when spotted. Others report only the feeling of being watched after hours, when the manager and staff are preparing to lock up. On some occasions, this spirit appears to be mischievous. His presence is felt in the downstairs men’s bathroom, turning the water and the hand dryers on and off while people are using them. Indeed, this spirit does seem to be more prankster than spook.
There is yet another spirit said to haunt the upstairs area, the business offices, the historic districts, the Seville Qurater, and along near-by Romano Street. This feminine spirit is said to be the ghost of Sarah Wharton, the daughter of a well-to-do Pensacola businessman, and a hapless victim of a pirate raid during the early nineteenth century. It was while Sarah and her father were taking an evening stroll down Romano Street that the vicious attack took place. Pirates landed nearby and murdered several people immediately, but when one of the scoundrels saw the beautiful Sarah, hr ran quickly to take her as his prize. This pirate killed Mr. Wharton with on shot from his black powder pistol, and then snatched up the hysterical woman in his arms, and began to run back to the docks where a longboat was moored. Sarah, however, in a fit of rage, began fighting the thug by biting, scratching and hitting as hard as she could. In the process, Sarah gouged out one of the pirate’s eyes with her diamond ring, forcing him to drop her. In his anger, the pirate drew his cutlass and lopped off her head with one blow, her lifeless body falling limp in the city street. Since that time many people, both local and visitors alike, have reported seeing the vision of a Victorian-era lady silently gliding down Romano and other local streets. Some believe that Sarah enjoys the silent Seville Quarter long after the party crowd goes home. Some have reported seeing a woman dressed in old-fashioned clothing silently walking past office doors, or hearing knocking sounds coming from empty rooms and closet spaces. On occasion, this spirit plays with the office copy machine, turning the device on and off and making copies of absolutely nothing; the paper exiting the machine will be pure white, or black and hazy, as if someone lifted the cover while the machine was printing. Whether this is simply a late night worker’s imagination has rarely been questioned, since far too many people, including workers, local patrons and visitors, all know of the enchanted Seville Quarter and its playful ghosts.
Borrowed from Florida’s Ghostly Legends and Haunted Folklore: The Gulf Coast and Pensacola by Greg Jenkins.
To find out more about Seville Quarter, visit: www.rosies.com
Directions:
Seville Quarter
130 E Government St, Pensacola, FL
From Interstate 10, take Exit 12 to merge onto I-110 S toward Pensacola.
Take Exit 1C for US-98 Bus/ Garden St and then merge onto Garden St.
Turn Left at Tarragona St and park in the parking on the right. It’s between Government Street and Church St.
Clues:
1) Head to the corner of Tarragona St and Government St. With your back to the parking lot and Government St going from left to right, turn Left.
2) Walk down Government St and observe a mural up on a wall on your right. This is the beginning of the Seville Quarter establishment. Keep walking down past Seville Quarter until you come to the intersection with Jefferson St.
3) Turn Right. On your right will be two black iron fences with 2 white security boxes (no longer in function) in-between them.
4) Walk towards those white security boxes. Stop at the 2nd-to-last fence post on your left.
5) Down in the shrub, on the 2nd-to-last fence post, is a gray magnetic key box.
6) This box is cheap, so in order to insure that it closes properly, I have constructed a small “latch” system consisting of black duct-tape and Velcro. To undo the “latch” find the side opposite of the magnet. Carefully pull the Velcro apart (it’s at the end of the black duct-tape strip). The box opens from where the duct-tape strip is taped. You might have to mess around at this spot, but the box should open, away from the duct-tape strip. There is no Logbook in this box.
7) When you’re finished with stamping, please reseal all the bags and make sure the “latch” is secure. Re-hide better than how you found it. Now, you can go on to find Cat Ghost, Pensacola Little Theatre’s Little Girl, Mr. Manatee’s and Mattie!
8) Don’t forget to log your find in to either AtlasQuest.com or Letterboxing.org!